Tag Archives: family history

We Need To Talk About Ancestry

Posted on September 13, 2021 by Lifelines Research

Or … How The Major Commercial Genealogical Websites Are Killing Family History Research As a full-time professional researcher, I depend heavily on the resources that I’m able to access online, particularly those databases provided by the major commercial websites. Without … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, research, Soapbox | Tagged ANcestry, documents, family history, genealogy, parish registers, research, tribbles | 25 Comments

A Draper’s Tale

Posted on August 8, 2021 by Lifelines Research

Thomas Port, my great great grandfather, was born on 22 August 1822 in St Pancras, London. There is, however, no official record of his birth or baptism – at least none that I have ever been able to find. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, Local History, research, Stories | Tagged Birmingham, buckingham, Draper, family history, genealogy, Key Hill Cemetery, research, Smethwick, Soda Manufacturer, Thomas Port | Leave a comment

Birth or baptism?

Posted on July 17, 2021 by Lifelines Research

A couple of weeks ago, I was searching for some baptisms on Ancestry’s London Parish Register Database, when I noticed something odd. I’d just done a basic search for anyone with the surname ROGERS and the parents’ names William and … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, research, Soapbox | Tagged baptism, birth, database, documents, family history, genealogy, research | 1 Comment

The Darkest Day

Posted on July 10, 2021 by Lifelines Research

The date is Tuesday, 29 January 1895 and Edinburgh is in the grip of a snowstorm. In fact, the whole country is suffering; snow fell uninterruptedly for 12 hours in Birmingham yesterday and London is experiencing temperatures of 15° Fahrenheit … Continue reading →

Posted in Local History, research, Stories | Tagged census, Edinburgh, family history, genealogy, measles, registration, research | 3 Comments

Just trying to get by…

Posted on April 10, 2021 by Lifelines Research

The pressures of society weighed heavily on our ancestors; in particular, the expectation that they should live good, God-fearing lives and that they should conform to the beliefs and values of the Anglican church, particularly when it came to matters … Continue reading →

Posted in research, Soapbox, Stories | Tagged deceased wife's sister, family history, genealogy, illegitimacy, Kent, Legislation, Marriage Act 1835, prohibited degrees of kindred, Tithe, tithe maps, tithes, Transportation | Leave a comment

Where have all the women gone?

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Lifelines Research

To mark International Women’s Day I wanted to have a look at the key records that we use to research our English & Welsh family history, and to consider how those records routinely under-represent the roles played by our female … Continue reading →

Posted in research, Soapbox | Tagged family history, Florence Nightingale, genealogy, International Women’s Day, research, Women's History | 9 Comments

Conjectures, traditions and the search for the truth…

Posted on January 10, 2021 by Lifelines Research

Sir Denner Strutt, Knt., was of Little Warley, of which place he was created a baronet in 1641; he suffered severely from the arbitrary exactions of the parliament in the time of King Charles the First, being compelled to pay … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, Local History, research, Soapbox, Stories | Tagged antiquarians, antiquaries, family history, genealogy, Henry William King, John Wodehouse, Little Warley, Sir Denner Strutt, Thomas Wodehouse | Leave a comment

52 Ancestors – 52 Documents

Posted on December 29, 2020 by Lifelines Research

Throughout 2020 I’ve been tweeting my own take on Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 52 different types of document relating to 52 different ancestors over 52 weeks. Now I’ve put all 52 tweets together in one … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, research | Tagged Ancestors, ANcestry, documents, family history, genealogy | 6 Comments

So, what next?

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Lifelines Research

Two weeks ago today, I sat down and composed a blog post entitled, Where Have All The Registers Gone? I referred to it as a ‘soapbox’ piece and my aim was to highlight what I saw as a serious problem … Continue reading →

Posted in Document Sources, research, Soapbox | Tagged digitisation, family history, genealogy, parish registers, research | 3 Comments

Blank spaces and circumstantial evidence

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Lifelines Research

This is the fourth part of the three-part story of the life of my great, great, great grandmother, Mary Ann Port, which aims to explain why, despite the absence of evidence that she ever had any children, I believe her … Continue reading →

Posted in research, Stories | Tagged biography, buckingham, census, Dorchester, family history, genealogy, Hertfordshire, newspapers, research, tna | Leave a comment